Board game:Candy Land

Recovering from Polio, Eleanor Abbott invented the game Candy Land in 1945. She envisioned the game for polio-stricken children to play as they recovered. Some historians believe that she also intended the game for healthy children, to keep them occupied indoors and thus safer from the Polio disease. The game required no reading or mathematical skills so the youngest children could play it. They drew a color card and advanced to that color square on the board. Milton Bradley purchased the rights to publish the game in 1949. The first printed edition of the game's board, included in this version, carries a black line on the leg of the boy pictured at the game's start. Some historians believe this line indicates a leg brace--common to young Polio victims. Whether or not this is true the manufacturer changed the design of the game board soon afterwards; the line is gone in later boards. Though this game's box has a 1955 copyright date, it holds the early game board with the black line. Perhaps Milton Bradley placed leftover game boards in some later editions of the game. An inductee in the National Toy Hall of Fame, Candy Land is still in production.